Universal access to primary education: the integration of black pupils into former Indian public primary schools.

Abstract:

This research report examines the impact that universal access to primary education has on the integration of black pupils into former Indian public primary schools. In the post-apartheid state, a fundamental challenge has been the reformation of the educational landscape in South Africa, aimed at ensuring that its discriminatory educational history is never repeated. This study focuses on contextualising universal access to primary education in a specific environment i.e. tracing and understanding specific trends and social phenomena in public primary schools in the former Indian township of Lenasia, neighboured by former black townships (greater Soweto), thirty kilometres south of Johannesburg. There are four pillars to this investigation. It sets out to firstly examine whether universal access to primary education has led to an increase in enrolment numbers in a specific sample of ten historically classified Indian public primary schools in Lenasia. Secondly, the study explores whether increased enrolment numbers are due to a migration of black pupils into the former Indian public primary sample schools. The third focus is to understand the reasons, through the views and perceptions of school principals, teachers, black parents and a government official as to why this migratory trend, as an unintended consequence of universal access to primary education, may be occurring. Lastly, the emphasis is on investigating whether universal access to primary education has, as an unintended consequence, led to infrastructural capacity difficulties experienced in the sample schools.
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Four data collection methods / instruments are employed to undertake this study. These are document analysis; qualitative interviews; statistical questionnaires on the sample school demographics and; a survey on school quality perceptions conducted on fifty black parents. From the data collected, analysed and interpreted, this research report confirms that the national legislative framework aimed at universal access to primary education has resulted in increased enrolment numbers at the sample schools. The results also indicate that there is a large proportion of the pupil population that travels from the neighbouring former black townships to attend the sample schools, thereby confirming the migratory trend of black pupils into the former Indian schools. In addition, interactions with the school principals, teachers, government officials and the results of the survey reveal that black parents send their children to these former Indian schools due to the perception that these schools offer a better quality education in comparison to the former black township primary schools. Lastly, the data collected clearly indicates that the infrastructural carrying capacity of the schools is stretched to the point where it jeopardises the practise of universal access to primary education and the provision of a good quality education.
The study concludes that even though the quantitative aspects of universal access to primary education are being met, the qualitative aspects of education are being compromised. The investigation also suggests that further detailed multi-level research in former black townships is necessary in order to fully understand why the migratory trend is highly prevalent. This would also provide better insight into transforming the defunct culture of teaching and learning in former black townships into a culture of accountability, transparency and openness. Directions for future research are also proposed.